Christmas Adam 2012 (Adam comes before Eve)

December 23, 2012 - We invited the Diamond family to a party at our house tonight in lieu of Christmas Eve. It was decided that it's too difficult for all the Diamond's to get together on Christmas Eve and so I decided December 23, 2012 would work better. Unfortunately, the only people who could come was Mike and Marie's family, my parents, and of course Steve, Alissa, and I.

We started out the evening with Soup, Salad, and Apple Strudel for dinner. Everyone contributed to the meal. Marie made Minestrone soup, I made Cheese & Broccoli soup and Apple Strudel, and my parents brought the salad and chocolate covered strawberry's.

After dinner, we participated in Grandma Diamond's favorite tradition, which is her annual nativity story. She always brings costumes for the kids to dress up in while somebody reads the story. Marie was chosen to read the story and the kids dressed up in costume and acted out the story. Heber dressed up as a Shepard, Alissa dressed up as an Angel, and Rosemary dressed up as a Wiseman. Heber wasn't satisfied with just three little actors and said, "Where is the baby Jesus and who is going to be Mary and Joseph?" To make Heber happy, I volunteered to be Mary and we found a doll of Alissa's to play the role of Jesus. Immediately, Heber said, "Well, then Steve has to be Joseph if Kim is going to be Mary." He is such a smart kid. The funniest part was that the costumes are made for ages 8-10 so Steve and I did the best we could at fitting in the costumes... We also found a little sheep for Heber to carry and a gift box for Rosemary to carry.

Of course, Grandma and Grandpa Diamond can't come to a Christmas party and not give out gifts so they allowed each kid to open a gift. Here is a picture of Alissa with her gift. She received these wooden, magnetic dolls with tons of clothes and accessories to choose from.

 Finally, we ended the evening by making Gingerbread Snoopy Dog Houses. I purchased a kit that came with 4 houses. Therefore, each child was able to make a house to take home. Grandma and Grandpa also made a house to take home. Here is a picture of the kids with Grandma and Grandpa and the four houses they all made: 

Here is a picture of Mike, Marie, and the kids with Grandma and Grandpa.

 Here is a close up of the house that Alissa made. Each house came with a gummy Snoopy to put on top. They also came with candy to use for Christmas lights on the house:

This evening was so much fun that we will remember it for years to come. Thanks everyone for helping to make such wonderful memories...